Between a Rock and a Hard Place
by DistractedStudent
Summary: Finally updated: One night keeps going from bad to worse. Now Leo's fighting for his life and Raph has to lead the rescue. Where did it all go wrong? And will Leo even be coming home? New update finally: the brothers see what's going on on Leo's side.
1. Chapter 1: A Bad Situation

**Hello friends. This is one of my first stories, so I'd appreciate any feedback. I realize I'll probably be making a lot of mistakes along the way, but I'm finally trying my hand at this. I've admired the work of several authors for years, so I figured it's about time I tried to get my ideas out here. I'm not entirely sure where this story is going since it seems to be writing itself, but hopefully it turns out well. Here it goes! I don't own the turtles, but I love to put them in new situations and see what they'll do.**

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Leonardo often wondered how he got himself into these situations. If his brothers could see him now . . . better not to think about it. Mikey would laugh his shell off, and Raph would never let him live it down. Speaking of his brothers, where were they? They should have been here a while ago. He'd activated the tracking device on his phone as soon as the Kraang cornered him.

He grimaced and tried not to let Karai slip. Hanging from the ledge of a skyscraper, no problem. Rescuing a damsel in distress, common work. Trying not to be killed by Kraang droids while trying to hang onto a struggling kunoichi while hanging from the ledge of a skyscraper: a new experience.

"Let! Me! Go!" Karai shouted, punctuating each word with a painful blow to his forearm.

"I'm not letting you go! Haven't you seen the drop? Besides, I'm not letting you get away till I get some answers." Leonardo growled, tightened his grip on Karai's wrist, and tugged on the rope with his teeth. It seemed stable still. Time to trust the rope.

Letting go of the edge, Leonardo grit his teeth against the plunge his stomach took as they dropped a few feet. Knowing he didn't have long before the Kraang cut his lifeline, Leonardo quickly began swinging a grappling hook with his free hand and launched it toward the building next to them. Feeling the hook catch, Leo immediately secured the rope. And none too soon, since the Kraang cut the rope holding them to the skyscraper, and Leonardo felt his stomach plunge for the second time that night. He knew the landing would be painful. He hadn't been able to get an angle to land them on the roof. He'd have to settle for crashing through the window of the next building.

Just as they neared the building Leo swung Karai into the window, using her to break the glass and free up his body for a proper landing. Ignoring the slicing cuts from the broken glass, Leo tucked and rolled while simultaneously cutting the hook's rope. As he got to his feet, he duly noted that Karai had landed well and seemed to have avoided major injury from the glass.

Then Karai took off.

Seething, Leo raced to catch her. He wasn't going to let the fight end like this. He still had questions. Racing up the stairs, Leo followed Karai to the roof, but as he rounded the corner he realized he should have just let her go. It seemed the entire foot clan had come to her aid.

Backed by reinforcements, Karai smiled. "You are a fool, Leonardo. You know I'm under orders to kill you, don't you?"

"Please Karai. You don't have to do this. I know you don't want to kill me." Leo knew the bargaining was futile. Maybe she would have let him go if he had been able to confront her alone, but in front of the foot clan there was no way she'd leave him be. It'd be considered treason. Predictably Karai just smirked and shook her head.

"Fine. I won't let you do this!" Leo growled and launched himself toward her, ready for the foot ninja that moved to intercept him. Leo knew his own strength. He could handle the skill of the foot ninja on his own. It was the numbers that worried him. Not to mention that if Karai decided to join the fight, he'd really have trouble. Suddenly, resounding crash to his right halted Leonardo's charge.

Right. He'd forgotten about the Kraang. Obviously they weren't willing to let him go that easily. Taking advantage of the Foot's confusion, Leo swept the feet out from under the nearby ninja and raced for the edge of the roof. This was not a fight he could take on on his own, and he knew it. Looking back he saw that the rooftop had dissolved into an all out fight between the foot and the Kraang. Let them fight, they'd decrease the numbers to come after him, and maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to get away before they realized.

His graceful landing to the next building was shattered as Karai barreled into him. They both rolled to their feet and began circling each other. There was no hate in her eyes. "Why Karai? Why do you stay with the foot when you obviously aren't evil like them?"

Confusion plastered itself on Karai's face only to be replaced by annoyance. "Really! What do I have to do to get it through your goody little two-shoed brain that I am "evil"! Seriously! I should have killed you that first time."

"You said I was interesting!" Leo reminded her.

"Yeah, well now you bore me." With this Karai charged. Leo focused his mind and became a blur. This was natural to him. Karai and him had fought enough for him to recognize her patterns. Mid-strike he saw her reach for the blinding powder and nocked her hand aside with his forearm, following it up blow to her shoulder with the hilt of his katana. Too late he realized the blinding powder was just a distraction and her dagger embedded itself in his shoulder.

Staggering backward, Leo growled. Something felt off about the wound. Already it was burning. An amateur probably wouldn't notice the difference, but Leo knew his body well. Time for a simple distraction.

"Well if I'm going to escape, we'll have to make it look like you tried hard won't we. Shredder might punish you." Karai simply smiled in reply. Leo shook his head to clear his mind and set his face into a grim smile. Karai stared at him with an equally deadly glare before shooting towards him. Quickly, Leo sheathed one katana and threw a whole pocket full of ninja stars at Karai. Although she blocked several them, a couple found their mark and distracted her long enough for Leo throw a smoke bomb and disappear over the edge of the building into the alley below.

Karai smirked. She may have lost him in this fight, but he probably wouldn't make it far. Not with that dagger still embedded. Sad. It was one of her favorites. But then again, it wasn't hard to replace poison daggers in the foot stronghold.


	2. Chapter 2: Rescue?

It took Don a while to respond to the blinking light on his computer. Just a few seconds more! There. The microchip smoothly slid into place officially fixing Mikey's phone . . . for the umpteenth time. Traditionally Don would take this time to prepare a lecture for his younger brother, but the blinking light finally caught his attention.

Bursting from the lab, Don searched for his brothers. Mikey was easy to find; he was still playing his video game. "Mikey, come on. Leo's in trouble."

"Just a sec, bro! Let me get to a saving point!"

Annoyed, Don allowed his voice to raise in pitch as he sarcastically gibed. "Oh, no problem Mikey. I'll just kindly ask Leo not to die while you save your game!"

Startled Mikey paused his game. "Geesh, you really think it's that serious?"

Quietly Don responded, "I don't know, but Leo doesn't ask for help often. Especially not when he specifically leaves to cool down."

"Alright, bro. Whatever you say. I'll head out and you get Raph?" Don could hear Mikey laying on the charm with the last bit.

"Still too scared to go near him, huh?"

Don concealed a chuckle as his brother struck a dramatic pose. "You know what they say, bro. When you anger the beast, hide for a while."

"Mikey, that's not a quote from anything."

Mikey just smiled. "Whatever you say, bro. I'll just wait by the door." Then he moved off with a cheeky grin.

Don shook his head, and moved toward the dojo. Had to start looking for Raph somewhere. Turned out that was a good guess, and Raph was still beating his heart out of the punching bag. "Come on Raph. Leo needs help. He activating his tracker."

Raph growled. "Our oh mighty leader doesn't need anyone for anything. Let him be Donny."

Don felt his patience wane. "Raph! Get your head out of your shell and get out here. You know Leo wouldn't ask for help if he didn't need it. He's probably in deep trouble! You know how much trouble he's been in with Karai lately. We can't just abandon him ou . . ." Don stopped suddenly as Raph launched one of his sai toward his brother with a snarl. Even though it stuck in the wall dangerously close to his head, Don didn't flinch.

Officially out of patience, Done snapped. "Fine! Throw your tantrum. But if we end up being back a dead body, I'm blaming you. You're the one that drove him out alone in the first place." With that, he quickly turned desperately trying not to see the horror on his brother's face as he stalked out.

He didn't even bother to explain to Mikey, just grabbing his arm and pulling him over the turnstiles.

* * *

Leo staggered as he crashed into something . . . again. At this rate, the Foot would find him and finish him off. Something was definitely wrong with his shoulder wound, and his bet was on poison. Nothing Don couldn't fix of course. If that numbskull would ever show up. In the meantime, he was having trouble with his vision and had lost feeling in his arm. Judging by how many times he'd run into things, his balance must be pretty messed up too. He'd better risk the noise and call someone. It's not like he hadn't made enough noise already. If the Foot or Kraang were still after him, they probably would have found him by now.

Hand reaching into his belt, Leo got a sinking feeling in his stomach. His phone wasn't there. He must have dropped it in one of the falls. So no contacting help.

Taking a calming breath, Leo began to strategize. Alright. He was alright. If he could just focus his eyesight enough to get his bearings, he could probably make it home alone. Then another fear struck him. The phone. What if it wasn't shattered? What if it got picked up by the foot or the Kraang? Or a more immediate threat, what if his brothers tracked his phone to the fight on the rooftop and got overwhelmed?

Leo began running with a new determination. He had to get home. Home before they left, which was unlikely, or home in time to send someone to bring them back. Never mind his wounds or the poison. Those could be taken care of later. A lucky break later, Leo made out a land mark and dove toward the manhole cover. He might just make it.


	3. Chapter 3: Paralyzed

**Thank you so much for the reviews Talking Taco, BubblegumLight, and Smile or else! I wanted to get something new up for you guys! So here it is!**

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Raph paced back and forth in front if the TV. Maybe if he left right now he could catch up to Don and Mikey. They hadn't left that long ago. He didn't want Leo dead and he sure didn't want any of his brothers to think he wanted them dead. Shell they knew that didn't they?

He almost bolted for the door right then, but another thought stopped him. What about his pride? Was he supposed to just tuck his tail between his legs and run after them like a reprimanded dog? No. He would not be told what to do.

But Donny sounded pretty worried about Leo. Maybe he'd just tail them and see if they needed his help. In the end, it was Splinter that made the decision for him. Just as Raph was making his one hundredth turn, the door to Splinter's room slid open with a bang.

"Raphael! Where are your brothers?"

Startled, Raph barely managed to stutter out, "G-gone Sensei. I was . . ."

"Find them Raphael." Splinter cut him off. "Leonardo is in trouble. I can sense a disturbance."

"Yes, master."

"Quickly Raphael."

"Yes, master."

With that, the decision was made, and Raph ran to catch up to Don and Mikey. Running out the door, he cursed the fact that he hadn't asked where they were headed.

* * *

Vision blurry, Leo cursed his weakness. He could make it home. He knew he could. It was a mind over matter problem, and Leo knew that out of all his brothers, control of the mind was his expertise. Nevertheless, he really wasn't sure how close he was to home anymore. He knew the sewers like the back of his hand, but with no vision he'd lost his exact location about ten minutes ago. Suddenly to add to his difficulty, his legs gave out on him.

Mentally cursing, Leo struggled to regain his footing. It was useless. His vision was progressing from blurry to black. He heard footsteps approaching and could only hope it was a friend instead of foe. He had no strength left to fight.

In the process of rolling to the side, a half baked attempt to hide, Leo suddenly realized that someone was cursing. A smile ghosted across Leo's face. _Raph_. Leo shouted out with all the strength he could muster. "Raph!"

The footsteps suddenly went silent. Leo smiled, proud of his brother. Their recent stealth training was obviously kicking in. Even Leo couldn't hear Raph now. One last call to help Raph find him. "Raph! Get over here."

A splash as Raph fell to his knees. "Leo! Stay with me. You'll be okay!"

Leo knocked Raph's hand away. "Listen . . . Raph!" Leo cursed again. His voice was fading. "Raph! You have . . . you can't follow the tracker. Phone . . . lost."

"Don and Mikey already left to find you!"

"Stop them! It could be . . . could be a trap. Go . . . get them!"

"What about you? Leo, I gotta get you home first."

"Idiot. Leave me and stop them! It's poison. . . . need Don. Too many. . ." Frustrated with his lack of vocal ability, Leo pushed at Raph's leg. "Go! Raph! Now!"

"Fine, but I'll send Sensei to get you, ok?"

Leo didn't answer. He'd finally slipped into unconsciousness. Raph hurried to his feet, pulling out his T-phone. First a call to Sensei. Running for the manhole cover, Raph waited for Master Splinter to pick up. And waited. And waited. Shell, he was going to force Don to show Master Splinter how to use the T-phone as soon as they got home.

Fine. He'd call Don first.

A few minutes later, he let out a sigh as Donny picked up. "Don! You can't go after the phone! It's a trap!"

There were sounds of fighting in the background. "No, duh?" A grunt and the sound of a solid thwak as Don's Bo found a target. "It's like the whole foot turned out! I'm gonna kill Leo when I find him!"

Raph tried to interrupt Don's tirade to no avail.

"What the heck did he do? We couldn't find him anywhere. I don't know if I can drag him out of here i-"

"DON! Shut up for a minute. I found Leo, and something wrong with him. He said something about poison."

He heard Don sigh on the other end and could vaguely make out a yell from Mikey.

"Raph, we need help here. Mikey's hurt. I can't hold them off for long. We're at the corner of Madison and Twelfth."

"I'm coming Don! Just try and hold them off!"

With that Raph clicked off the phone, and kicked up the speed. He was itching for a fight. He just wished it wasn't one he'd have to retreat from, and by the sounds of things this was gonna be more of an extraction than a good 'ol fight.


	4. Chapter 4: Found

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/or commented! It's really validating to a new author! **

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Drip. . . . Drip. . . . . Drip. . . . . Drip.

Leo slowly came to awareness and realized that something was dripping directly on his face. He could vaguely feel that he was still lying in something wet, but couldn't seem to get his eyes to open. After several minutes of trying to move something, anything, he'd given up. He'd have to wait for someone to come get him. Apparently the poison had completely paralyzed him.

Drip . . . . Drip . . . . Drip . . . . Drip . . . . Drip.

Growing increasingly annoyed with the dripping on his face, Leo began to wish for the unconsciousness to return. He was going to have to just lie here anyway.

Drip . . . Drip . . .

Leo was purely seething now. He had to think about something else now! He began to wonder. How long had he been out? Had Raph stopped Don and Mikey? Were they all alright? Probably not if no one had to come to get him yet. Were they dead? Fighting the Foot or the Kraang? Captured? Lost?

This train of thought was going no where good. This was all his fault. Where had he gone wrong? When he followed Karai? He was only trying to clear his mind from earlier. . . When he tried to stop her from breaking into a Kraang hideout? He was protecting her for heaven sakes! It wasn't his fault the Kraang had found them. Karai had started a fight with him, and the clashing of their steel had drawn their attention. He should have just stayed home. He had just meant to get some fresh air, calm down. This all started when he went out alone. He'd reprimanded the others enough about the dangers of going out alone. He should have known better.

Wait. No. That was where he'd gone wrong. He never should have confronted Raph when he had returned. As much as he hated to admit it, their fight had been his fault. He'd noticed Raph had disappeared from the lair and had been worried about him. He'd waited, pacing by the door, until Raph had come home, and had immediately jumped down his brother's throat. He remembered the painful memory:

_"Welcome home. What were you thinking going out alone? You didn't even tell anyone where you went!" He could see Raph's mouth opening with an excuse, and didn't want to give him a chance to start a fight. Turning around to signal dismissal, Leo tried to impress his message on Raph with the parting word._

_"I don't want to hear it Raph. You and your excuses. One of these days you're going to get yourself killed, and we won't even know you left."_

_He knew he'd pushed it too far when he turned around again to see Raph's face. Raph barreled into him, throwing him to the ground and kneeling on top of him. _

_"How dare you Leo! How dare you assume what I was doing!" Leo blocked Raph's punch with his forearm and wrapped his legs around Raph's knees, twisting his weight to switch the positions. Now he was on top, trying to hold his brother's arms down. _

_"What do you mean, Raph? How dare I assume? As your leader I've kept tabs on you! You leave several times a week, never saying a word. And you often come back banged up! What am I supposed to think, Raph? Huh?"_

_Raph grabbed Leo's wrists hard and bucked. Leo felt his stance crumble, and on Raph's second thrust with his hips, Leo went flying over Raph's head. He quickly rolled to his feet to meet Raph. who was snarling. _

_"What if it's none of your business, huh fearless?" _

_They began circling each other, fists held ready._

_"It's always my business Raph! It's my job to lead you!"_

_"Well you're sure doing a crappy job of it."_

_"You want to try Raph?"_

_"You know what, yeah! I bet I could be a way better leader than you." That pushed Leo's buttons. He was trying his best, didn't Raph see that?_

_"No you couldn't. And everyone knows it. You're so hot headed you can't even protect your brothers. You run into fights without thinking, and Mikey and Don get hurt because of it!" Leo knew that was a low blow, but now he was angry too. It wasn't fair to bring up past mistakes. Especially since that incident hadn't really been Raph's fault in the first place._

_Raph growled, drawing his sai and rushing Leo. Leo barely dodged Raph's first strike and grabbed Mikey's skateboard as a shield. Leo gracefully dodged each of Raph's strikes waiting for his chance to retaliate. With a smile of triumph he saw Raph make a mistake and dove in, smashing Mike's skateboard against Raph's neck. Raph fell quickly, and Leo suddenly realized someone was shouting his name. Looking up, he realized Don was staring at him. And oddly enough, he looked really angry._

_"What Don!? I didn't break Mike's skateboard!"_

_"Leo you're such egregious moron sometimes! What is it with you and your power complex?" Leo watched confused as Don stalked over to where Raph lay unconscious. He watched timidly as Don checked Raph for injuries, holding his breath. He had hit a delicate spot. He was pretty sure he'd used just the right amount of force, but he never should have used that move on Raph in the first place. He could have killed him. _

_Don glanced up at Leo, obviously still irritated, but beginning to calm down. "You're lucky he's alright Leo. Do you realize he's been running extra secret repairs for me the past couple of weeks? That's where he's been. I knew where he was the whole time, Leo. You are such a control freak. Nagging Raph every day does not make you a better leader. It degrades your authority completely! You wonder why Raph doesn't obey you? Have you ever thought you don't deserve his respect? " Don paused his anger fading away, and Leo felt a sense a dread settle over him. _

_"I'm sorry, Don. I really am. I . . "_

_"Don't, Leo. Just take some time to cool off and apologize to Raph when he wakes up." _

_"You're right . . . I'll. I'll be back."_

That's when Leo had fled the lair. Even if he was cooling off, he knew he shouldn't have gone topside. But he had, and he'd seen Karai. He was really looking for a good fight with her to help him work off some of his steam. One-on-one he'd never had any problems with her before. He'd gotten distracted though when he realized she was breaking into a Kraang compound.

Leo's thoughts were interrupted as he heard splashing. Were his brothers finally back? Don would get the poison out of his system, and . . . wait. No, no, no, no, no. That wasn't the sound of his brothers. For one, there were too many feet and they were louder than his brothers would be. Again cursing his inability to move, Leo hoped they would pass him by. And they did. At first.

Then someone turned around.

"Wait. He's here."

The splashing came back his way. If only he could open his eyes! At least he'd know who had found him.

"Tell Karai we found him."


	5. Chapter 5: Extraction

It didn't take Raph that long to get to the corner of Madison and Twelfth, but as he neared the area he pulled up sharp on the edge of the roof and felt his jaw drop slightly.

"Woah. What did fearless do?"

Five roofs were covered Foot and Kraang, all engaged in battle. Lazar beams were glancing off of sharp weapons and purple light was shooting everywhere. How was he supposed to find Don and Mikey? 'Course the fact that they're hard to find is kinda a blessing, he supposed. At least it's not all the Foot and all the Kraang against his two younger brothers. Instead they must have just gotten caught in the middle of the battle. Shell, Leo is such an idiot sometimes. He'd better call Don. It might save him time.

A few rings later, a groggy voice picked up. "What's up, bro?"

"Mikey? What'er you . . look never mind. Where are you guys?"

"Sorry bro, no know. Hehe that rhymed."

Raph mentally face palmed. "Ask Donny meathead."

"Sure, no prob Raph. 'Cept Donny hasn't answered any of my questions in the last few minutes."

Raph was losing his patience and growled. "Mikey, just hand the phone to Don."

"Sure thing, but he's not going to answer. I'm pretty sure he's unconscious."

Could this get any worse? "Alright Mikey. Look can you describe what you see?"

"Yeah, Don got us hidden under this metal sheet thing he built. Not really sure what'd it look like from the outside, but it's keeping us safe from the fight for now."

Raph scanned the area. There - that must be what Mikey's talking about. If not, he'd just have to search again.

"Kay, Mike. I'm coming, just hold on a bit longer." There was no response for a few minutes, and Raph started to worry. "Mike?! Mike?! Answer me!"

"Sorry bro. I'm back. No worries. Just zoned out for a bit."

"I'm on my way, okay Mike?"

"Yup, yup. Hurry up Raph."

Karai was not pleased. For a while, everything seemed to be going her way. Leo was surely neutralized from the poison by now, and she had foot soldiers out searching for him. And then, just as she was going to give the vanishing order, his brothers had shown up. With all of her forces, now would have been the perfect time to take down the rest of them. And then she'd lost sight of them when she'd been distracted by some Kraang. Hopefully they hadn't been able to retreat yet. She needed to find them!

And then some good news came. "We've found the turtle, Karai."

"Perfect. Bring him here."

"You mean we shouldn't continue with the kill order?"

"No. I said bring him here. Do NOT make me repeat myself!"

"Yes, Karai."

Closing the phone, Karai took a good long look across the roof. Perfect. She'd use Leonardo to draw the rest of the turtles out.

Raph was glad he could recognize Don's handiwork. It was amazing none of the Foot or Kraang had tried to attack Don's makeshift shelter by now. Sliding under the piece of metal, Raph found Mikey leaning up against the wall and Don sprawled over his legs. Both looked like they were unconscious. Yup, definitely an extraction.

Grabbing Don's arms, Raph started to pull Don out from under the metal when Mikey gave a yelp. Raph started, bumping his head on the metal, and turned to look at Mikey, whose eyes were now wide open. Nope. Not unconscious then.

"What's up Mike?"

"Raphie! Dude, you have got to get this elephant off of me! I can't feel my legs!"

Raph squinted and Mike and tried to decide if there was something wrong with Mike or if he was just being his usual self. Then he glanced down at Mikey's legs. One definitely look broken. Alright, carrying both of um home.

Raph finished pulling both of his brothers out from under the metal just in time to send a sai right through the head of an approaching Kraang. Ripping his sai back, Raph thrust it back into his belt and hoisted an unconscious Don over his shoulder. Acting solely on instinct, Raph grabbed a handful of ninja stars and threw them behind him. Turning around sloppily, due to the extra weight on one shoulder, Raph realized that three of the ninjas approaching him from behind were down and threw two more well aimed ninja stars at the remaining two. Quickly turning around, Raph pulled Mike up by the arm.

"Listen Mikey. I don't have a lot of time. Get your butt over my shoulder."

"Um, Raphie. . . my legs."

"I know, just . . . give me some help okay?"

Grimacing Mike put his weight on one leg and tried to spring off the ground. It wasn't nearly as high as normal, but Raph was able to use the momentum to get Mikey over his other shoulder. Mike yelled as one of his injured legs hit Raph's plastron and Raph winced.

"Careful, bro!"

"I know. Sorry."

Turning toward the edge of the roof, Raph tried to wager whether he could make the jump when a voice stopped him.

"Don't move or Leonardo dies."

Slowly turning around, Raph came face to face with Karai. And realized with a growing pit in his stomach that she had a knife to Leo's throat.


	6. Chapter 6: Abandoned

This was Leo's nightmare. In fact, he wasn't entirely sure he wasn't just dreaming right now. Except dreams aren't typically completely black now are they. The Foot had found him and dragged him onto a roof top somewhere. He wasn't entirely sure, but he knew there was a fight between the Kraang and the Foot going on, so he was betting that he was in the same area where the fight had started. Suddenly he was thrown to his knees and his arms were pulled behind him by two different foot ninja. Then Karai was there and a knife was put to his throat. All a scary situation to start with, but then Karai had said it.

"Don't move or Leonardo dies."

He and his stupid paralyzed limbs and his stupid excursion to the surface were going to get his brothers killed. And that's when he realized he could suddenly move his eyelids again.

They felt heavy, but he could open them. Why? How? Wasn't the poison supposed to kill him? Never mind that. He looked directly at Raph and took the whole situation in. Raph had Don and Mikey thrown over separate shoulders and was right near the ledge of the roof. Obviously Don and Mikey needed medical attention and there was no way Raph could get them home and rescue Leo. In fact, rescuing him was an impossibility in this situation. Surrendering was not an option Leo was willing to entertain, and hopefully he could get that message across to Raph.

Looking Raph directly in the eyes, he willed Raph to make the jump. _Leave me!_ Surely Raph could realize this was the best option. Save three and lose one. He knew Raph understood what Leo wanted. Knew it by the anger that flared in his eyes. Raph shook his head no, and unfortunately Karai took that as if it were directed toward her.

Karai brought the knife closer to Leo's throat and drew a thin line of blood. "Are you sure that's your choice? I know you and Leonardo don't get along, but are you really willing to let him die?"

Leo knew there was no time to let Raph decide. In one swift motion he tested his newfound ability to move. "Move, Raph." He grunted and thrust his body to one side, startling Karai and the two ninja holding him. The knife bit into his throat, but Leo was able to fall backward enough to avoid loosing his head. He wasn't able to watch Raph, but he heard Karai's angry yell and assumed Raph had made the right decision. Closing his eyes to the pain in his neck, Leo let a smile ghost his face. Good.

Then a white hot pain lanced into his arms and his eyes shot open. Karai had simultaneously thrust her palm hard into his shoulder wound and thrust another dagger into his unarmed shoulder. "How can you move? How did this happen?!" Karai stood up and lashed out at the foot ninja around her. They backed away leaving Leo laying on the roof beside her.

Karai began to pace, and then a few seconds later knelt back down by Leo's head. "Father will be pleased. He doesn't need to know your brothers escaped. You're going to tell me where Yoshi and your pathetic brothers are, and then my father will take you apart. You'll wish I had killed you here." Still unable to move his arms or legs, Leo just smirked at Karai.

"You'll never . . . . get them Karai. They're . . . safe."


	7. Chapter 7: Home

Don was exploring new curse words. Paralysis for a ninja is horrifying. In the absence of mobility, he put his mind to work instead, thinking back through what had happened and trying to figure out what exactly was happening to him so he could fix it. Somehow.

He had tried to lead Mikey away from the fight between the Foot and Kraang, but they'd been spotted too quickly. They had held their own for a while, but then Mikey fell to the ground and Don had to switch to defensive. He had done well, only receiving a few scratches from a couple of throwing stars. Apparently they had used some chemical on the blades, though and Don could feel his mobility waning. It was like his muscles wouldn't respond to the change in membrane potential!

Knowing he wouldn't be able to protect Mikey well, Don had ripped several large pieces of metal off of a generator and pulled together a shelter. Dragging Mikey underneath it, Don felt his legs give out from under him and succumbed to the paralysis. Was it a poison? Probably. From the progressive symptoms and inability to move any muscles, he was betting the chemical either blocked the binding or release of Acetylcholine thus effectively preventing his muscles from ever receiving the stimulus from his brain. But that was just his best guess. It could also be . . . hold on. Raph's here.

_Good. Heh. He thinks I'm unconscious. For all intents and purposes I am, I guess. There's nothing I can do to help us get out of here._

Don felt himself being drug out of his hiding spot, scooped up, and placed on Raph's shoulder. Then there was a lot of other shuffling as he figured Raph fought off some assailants and pulled Mikey up onto his other shoulder. Don felt himself start to loose control of his mind and hoped this didn't mean he was finally dying. Technically, the toxin probably couldn't cross the blood brain barrier and his heart would give out before his brain would, but it's possible that unconsciousness was just a symptom of his heart giving out.

Just as his thoughts got foggy, Don heard Karai say something about Leo. He felt Raph tense up, and somehow managed to piece the parts together. Karai must have Leo. Shell.

It only took him a few seconds to run through the six different possible scenarios and actions that Raph could take. None of them were good. All of them involved loosing a brother and maybe even the death of all four. How could Raph choose between brothers?! Worried, Don knew Raph would refuse to see the obvious and would choose an alternative that got them all killed. He tried to struggle, tried to get some words out to inform Raph. But then Raph jumped. He left Leo behind. And Don realized that Raph wasn't the one making the decision. Leo was.

* * *

Raph ran as fast as he could with his two brothers away from Karai, hating himself even as he did so. He knew Leo was right, and shell that's why he was so mad. Stupid Karai for putting him in this situation! Stupid Leo for . . . for being Leo! Stupid Don for being unconscious! Stupid Mikey for . . . wait. Why wasn't Mikey saying anything?

Looking over his shoulder as he ran, Raph tried to rouse Mike. "Mikey? Mikey? Shell bro, you awake?" After several unanswered tries, Raph decided Mikey was probably knocked unconscious from the jolt to his legs when Raph jumped. Shell. The sooner he got these two unconscious sets of baggage home, the sooner he could go back for Leo.

Letting Don carefully slide from his shoulders, Raph laid Don down on the rooftop. It'd be too dangerous to try and leap from the roof to the alley with both of them. Then he carefully climbed down the fire escape, taking care not to jostle Mikey too much. With a thump he landed in the alley, slid Mikey into his arms, and leaned him up against the alley wall.

"I'll be right back, chucklehead. Promise."

Then he quickly climbed back up to the rooftop and brought Don back down. Several tedious minutes later, Raph loaded his brothers back onto his shoulders, after moving them into the sewers, and headed for home. He didn't even bother with caution now. This was his territory and he was fairly confident no one had followed him.

Finally, with a burst of strength he didn't know he had, Raph cleared the turnstiles, bursting into the lair. Splinter came rushing towards him, but Raph cut him off by sliding Don onto the floor.

"I'm not sure what's wrong with him. He's been out cold since I found them." Splinter carefully moved Don into the living room while Raph laid Mikey down on the couch. "Chucklehead broke at least one leg, but I'm sure there's something else off. He was conscious when I found him. I think he passed out on the journey."

Without even stopping to look at his master, Raph turned for the door, but a cane blocked his path.

"Wait. My son." Raph turned to look at Splinter desperation all over his face.

"Master, please! I don't have time for this." Raph turned toward the door again. Karai has Leo! I need to . . ." Only to be blocked by the cane and his Master's words.

"Raphael. Calm down. In Leonardo's absence, you must think strategically in his place. The Foot are surely gone by now, and your brothers need medical attention."

"Please Master. Surely you can deal with them for now. Let me just check to see if the Foot are still there. I promise I won't jump into a fight without alerting you. I just need to see if there's anything I can do."

Raph saw Splinter's stern expression melt in the face of Raphael's despair and desperation.

"Okay, my son. Just please be sure to keep your word. I expect a call with an update on the situation before you take any action."

With a curt nod, Raphael finally bolted toward the door and back into the sewers.


	8. Chapter 8: A Father's Worry

**I apologize. I know it's been a long time. Unfortunately school has forced me to give up my distractions recently. I may not get another chance to publish until finals are over, but I'll try. I have a lot planned out and have made several corrections throughout the past chapters. Once again, I welcome constructive criticism! Thank you so much for reading. I'm sorry this isn't very long.**

* * *

Splinter felt his heart clench as he watched his second oldest son run out the door. Did he make the right decision? His common sense told him he should have forced Raph to help him tend to his brothers and plan the rescue, but his heart knew that cooping Raphael up would probably only damage his spirit more. Raphael had looked as if he was on the edge hysteria, not that his son would ever admit it. Splinter could only hope Raphael would act wisely and return safe to him once more.

Sighing with worry, he turned to his younger sons. Kneeling beside Michelangelo, Splinter examined his son's legs. Both were indeed broken although one looked more mangled than the other. It looked like his son had put a good deal of weight on the already injured limb. In a way, this examination provided relief. Although broken legs would slow his hyperactive son down, it was not life-threatening, and Splinter would welcome as much of that news as would come.

Quietly Splinter turned to his exceptionally smart son and wished that Donatello could at least speak to him. He had no doubt that his son would be able to convey some important information to his ailment, but in the absence of his son's wisdom he would do what he could. At first the cause of Donatello's stillness was puzzling. He only had a few scratches on his arms and a few cuts on his hands. There was no head injury, thankfully, and no major injuries. Turning back to the cuts, Splinter noticed that they had a bluish tinge to them. Puzzled, Splinter settled into a meditation pose and gazed at his son. Bluish tinge, unconsciousness . . . was it a poison? Splinter began to run through the poisons he knew. It would have to be very potent since it only entered Donatello's system through the cuts. Perhaps it was Runuhe, a mixture of larkspur, hemlock, and cyanide. Runuhe is very potent, causes paralysis leading to death . . . Splinter seriously hoped this was not the case, but something in his instincts told him this was probably the poison. As the certainty settled over him, he knew there was nothing he could do. He would lose at least one son tonight.

* * *

Raph barreled toward the battle site, being careful to stick to the shadows and utilize every ninja lesson Splinter had ever taught him. He _would_ rescue Leo. He would. He knew if he allowed his anger to overpower his stealth training, he would be condemning Leo to death. The traitorous voice in the back of his mind warned him that Leo might already be dead. _No. _He would rescue Leo. He would. Don and Mikey were in no position to rescue Leo. He had to keep it together.

As he approached the corner he had abandoned not too long ago, he felt his heart drop to his stomach. Nothing. There was nothing. How could they have cleaned up that fast? The only record of the enormous fight was the destroyed generator Raphael had pulled his brothers out from under. No Foot, no Kraang, not even evidence of the battle. He carefully scanned the area before cautiously dropping down to the roof where Leo had been taken.

It caught his attention immediately. How could it not? It was the only thing out of place on the roof. A pool of blood right where he knew Leo had knelt when Raph left. He knew it was his brother's. Don had forced all three of them to sit through a lecture on their anatomy with a stern explanation of their differences from humans. The color was darker than any humans and not nearly slimy as blood from the Kraang would be. His brother was injured, and a few steps away a message was both carved and outlined into the ground. Outlined in his brother's blood.

_"Wrong choice, Raphael."_

Was Leo dead? Had he failed? Raph felt the rage boil inside of him. He wanted to chase them down, tear apart every hide out, threaten everyone he could find. He wanted to kill. He wanted restitution.

_What if he's not dead? _The nagging voice in the back of his mind reminded him. _What if he is? _It hit him then. He had to go take care of Don and Mikey. Leo would want him to. It was his job surely. Stiffly he turned back toward home and began the long, painful trek home to tell his father.


	9. Chapter 9: Awake

**Just a short addition to the chapter I just posted. **

* * *

At first Karai had been drawn to Leonardo because of his peculiar shape. At the time, the idea of mutants had been new to her and she had been curious. How well could he move with that shell? What was he? She had been pleasantly surprised to find that he not only could move, but he was an equal match for her. Sometimes she wondered if he was actually better than her and just held back due to his odd sense of honor.

Then she had been drawn to him for a different reason. His odd humanity. He acted so human despite his odd shape. He was prideful, worried, loving, uncertain, angry . . . he displayed all the emotions she had come to expect from the people around her. It was so . . . so interesting. It was fascinating that someone so different could be so similar at the same time. She had felt herself connecting to him and aching for a friend in him. Knowing at the same time, that he was an enemy of her father and she should be cutting him down. A part of her had wished he would escape from the attack. That she would have many more fights with him, and get to know him better. Another part of her was frustrated that he constantly upset her plans. Now as she gazed at him slumped at her feet, she was drawn to him for an entirely opposite reason.

She had struck him again with a poisoned knife, knowing this time that it would wear off, left a message for his family, and had the foot ninja carry him back to her father's stronghold. She hadn't informed her father of her catch yet. For some reason she couldn't tear her gaze away from him. His arms chained behind his back and pulled up enough to hold his body suspended above the ground slightly, he was completely unconscious and bloody. And yet, even in his unconscious and bound state he seemed to radiate control and power. She didn't know if she would ever understand him. Certainly not before her father tore him apart. He was so inhuman. Not in his shallow exterior turtle-esk features. His strength, determination, and desire to protect surpassed anything she had ever seen. She couldn't help but hope he would somehow survive.

Sighing, she turned on her heel and left to inform her father of her catch. Surely he would be pleased now. _Unless someone has already informed him of my failure._ She thought darkly.

* * *

Splinter had just finished setting Michelangelo's legs, when Raphael returned to the lair. From his deflated expression, Splinter surmised that Leonardo was already gone. Despite his fear for his oldest son, Splinter couldn't help but feel relieved that Raphael had returned home unharmed.

"What have you discovered, my son?"

"He's gone. Dead or captured, I'm not sure. There was blood-" Raph paused and turned his head to the side. Splinter didn't press him, and a few seconds later Raph resumed his report. "There was blood, but no body. What do I do, Master?"

Splinter sighed. At least there wasn't definitive news of his oldest being dead. "First let us tend to your brothers, and then we will plan."

Raph nodded forlornly and both father and son moved toward the prostrate brothers.

"I have set your brothers legs. Both were broken and he sustained a few other minor injuries, but he should be fine and awaken soon." Splinter turned toward Donatello and his eyes softened. "Donatello . . . I believe he's been poisoned by Runuhe."

"What do we do?"

Splinter turned toward Raphael and tried to think of something to say. How should he tell his son that he knew of no cure? How could he explain to his passionate son that he would almost certainly lose another brother tonight?

Before he could say anything, Raph's expression changed, twisted into disbelief then anger. He had clearly seen the defeat in his father's eyes. Sadly Splinter realized he never gave his passionate son enough credit for his ability to read emotions. He opened his mouth to comfort Raphael, but his son cut him off.

"NO! You can't give up on him! You can't!" Lunging toward the couch, Raph grasped his brother's shoulders and began shaking him in desperation. "Wake up! Wake up, Genius! Snap out of it! You can't give up!"

Splinter moved to stop Raphael from shaking Donatello, but froze when he saw Donatello's face. His eyes were open. And he was frustrated.


	10. Chapter 10: It Begins

It was almost painful to have to wait so long for his body to recover, but at least this time his brother's lives weren't depending on his speed of movement. He tried to console himself with the fact that no matter what he did while he regained control of his muscles, he would still be left kneeling with his face barely suspended above the ground. Eventually he figured he'd be able to sit up further, but that's not much progress when you what you really need to do is escape. Either they'd unchain him at some point, or he'd find a way to wriggle his wrists out of the cuffs; somehow he would escape. He really didn't want his brothers to have to rescue him, and was worried Raph would try to lead them in a rescue mission before they were fully recovered. It would be best if he could escape on his own, however unlikely that may be.

Leonardo tried to clear his head, but everything was still buzzing. He was sure the poison had fully retreated from his mind by now, so it must be caused by the blood loss. Speaking of that, he really needed to do a fair assessment of his injuries. How able would he be during his escape? Could he use either of his arms? He couldn't tell yet since they were still slightly paralyzed and were completely occupied with supporting his body weight.

Suddenly part of the wall moved, swinging inward. Ah. So that's where the door was. Good information to have. With great effort Leo lifted his head to look at who was entering. The Shredder flanked by Karai and three other foot ninja. Leo steeled himself for whatever would follow. He knew what Shredder would want, and Leo knew he would never give it.

"So you're awake. Fascinating how you manage to recover from the poison. I have never held too much interest for science, but I can't help wondering how you recovered. It's too bad I need information from you. Otherwise I know of a few scientists who would love to take you apart."

Leo felt his head growing heavier but struggled to keep it up. He didn't want to look defeated in front of his enemy. He glared at Shredder to get his message across. He wasn't scared.

Shredder chuckled and stepped closer to Leo. Then he knelt down and grabbed Leo's face.

"Perhaps I should put my efforts into capturing one of your brothers. Then I could send him to the scientists and satisfy my curiosity, perhaps the annoying one who wears orange?"

Leo felt rage bubble up in his chest and surged forward, pushing off the wall with his feet in an attempt to head butt Shredder's face, but Shredder just laughed and tossed Leo to the side. Leo jerked to a halt when the chains holding his arms reached their length and he tried not to show the pain radiating up through his arms.

After a few seconds of panting, Leo used the tension in the chain to sit back up on his knees.

Shredder eyed him almost hungrily. "You will tell me where Hamato Yoshi is and then if you're lucky, I'll end your miserable life." Without waiting for a reply from Leo, Shredder turned his back and waved his hand toward the foot ninja who in response rushed Leo. Two held Leo still as he struggled and the third pierced the side of Leo's neck with a needle quickly emptying the contents. Almost immediately Leo's body went limp and his mind went fuzzy. Quickly the foot ninja unchained him and began to drag his body out the door.

Smiling, Shredder put his hand on Karai's shoulder. "Well done, Karai. Come. Let's see how long it takes to break him."


	11. Chapter 11: Motives

**I am very very sorry that it has taken me so long to post. However as a peace offering, this is longer and in my opinion a little better written. Tell me what you think. Thank you so much to everyone who is still following this.**

* * *

Finally able to croak out a few words, Donatello gave voice to his frustrations. "That . . . was . . . terrible."

Raph quickly knelt next to the couch. "Donny! What happened? How are you awake?"

Donny gave him a signature glare . . . one Raph had long ago learned meant "You're breathing all my air." So Raph quieted down and backed up a few feet obediently.

After a few seconds of listening to Don's raspy breath, Raph stepped forward again. "Don . . ." He plunged on ignoring Don's glare. "Would you like me to help you sit up a bit?"

Don closed his eyes for a few seconds then slowly nodded. Raph tenderly grabbed one of Don's shoulders and slid his other arm behind Don's back. Slowly Raph helped Don sit up, duly noticing as Don's muscles spasm slightly as, he assumed, Don tried to help. Then Raph stepped back again, making room for Splinter as he knelt in front of his son.

"Are you alright, Donatello? Please describe any lingering symptoms for me."

Don didn't answer right away, instead slowly looking down at his hand. Raph followed his gaze and watched as Don's fingers slowly clenched and unclenched. Then Don looked back up at his father and began listing symptoms.

"Still slightly paralyzed . . . constricted throat . . . . slightly hard to think . . ." He trailed off and Master Splinter and Raphael waited for him to begin again. "Honestly, it seems like . . . it seems like all the symptoms of the poison are gradually retreating."

Raph felt himself losing patience and snapped a question to his brother, "Do you know what caused it?"

Don didn't seem phased at all by Raph's impatience. Instead he seemed almost curious. "Well, if I had to wager a guess" Raph noted that Don's voice was becoming stronger, "I'd say that the poison blocked the binding of AcH thus preventing my muscles from receiving stimuli from the brain and effectively paralyzing me." Don paused for a second then began again, "What I don't understand is why it wore off so quickly."

Finally unable to wait any longer, Raph cut Don off. "Look this is all fine, but now we need to plan how to get Leo back Sensei." Raph began pacing in front of the TV. "We know the Foot took him, so we just need to go search all of their hideouts. I'll take Don with me-"

With a very cautious look on his face, Donatello interrupted Raph. "So Leo's alive?"

An uneasy silence fell in the room and Raphael collapsed bonelessly onto the couch where his brother sat.

"I don't know."

The silence reigned while Splinter allowed his two sons to collect their thoughts. Several seconds later Donatello followed up with another question, "And if he's not?"

"Then I'll bring back his body." Raphael declared vehemently with his face in his hands.

* * *

Karai leaned against the wall outside one of her father's torture rooms trying to act nonchalant. In reality her stomach was turning and she felt an unrecognizable feeling creeping into her gut. Was it pity? No. Fear? Anger? No to both of those. Guilt? Her thoughts paused on that one. Why would she feel guilty about this? She hadn't felt guilty when she had beat up the turtles annoying friend and she hadn't felt guilty when she stabbed Leo twice with a poison dagger.

As she listened to the snap of the whip inside the room, her stomach rolled again. Her father hadn't spent much time trying to break the turtle yet, but already she feared for Leonardo's life. Originally she had followed her father into the room, and had even participated in carving new scars into Leonardo's green skin. But now three hours later, she had excused herself from the room. There was something wrong about looking at Leonardo the way he was now, and there was something wrong about the way her father was changing before her eyes.

Yes, she knew her father was cruel. She was used to that. It wasn't that fact that bothered her. It was the way he almost seemed driven insane by Leonardo's unwillingness to give her father the location of his home. Three hours was a long time for her father to not take a break, and it seemed almost as if he was forgetting his purpose.

With another snap of the whip, Karai pushed herself from the wall and moved to enter the room again. Vaguely she wondered if she was signing her death warrant by attempting to talk reason with her father, but she knew that if he kept this up, he'd probably kill Leonardo before he got the information out of him. At least that's what she kept telling herself her motives were.

As she entered the room, she was surprised to see her father standing directly over Leonardo with his hand on his throat. Now she knew her father was going crazy. There was no way they would get information out of Leonardo if he couldn't speak. This was madness.

Rushing to her father's side, she placed a hand on top of her father's hand and began to speak placatingly. "Father . . ." but she was cut off as her father's hand knocked her away roughly and growled, "Yoshi will pay!" Karai stared for a few seconds as she watched her father's knuckles turn white as he squeezed Leonardo's neck even harder.

Suddenly fearing her father would break Leonardo's neck, she rushed forward and threw herself in between Leonardo and her father shouting, "This is not Yoshi! This is just a freak of nature that seems to be his student! Listen, Father!" She stared at Shredder suddenly very scared, but noticed that his grip loosened around Leonardo's neck.

She watched her father blink rapidly for several seconds then audibly sighed in relief as her father completely released Leonardo's neck and stepped back.

"You are right, Karai. Of course, you are right." Shredder stepped back again and turned toward the door. Karai smiled at the picture of her father. This was better. This was more normal.

"Have them douse him and have someone take his vitals. We will resume this in an hour."

Karai quickly replied, "Hai, Father" and watched him walk out the door.

That was very very close. Leo almost lost his life there. Karai thoughts tumbled over each other in an attempt to qualify that thought. Which of course would have been terrible after all the work she'd gone through to get one of the mutants here. That was why she stopped her father, of course.

Violent coughing from behind her broke Karai from her thoughts. Turning back around she studied the limp form of Leonardo. His arms chained to the ceiling, he dangled limply in the middle of the room moving only as his body violently coughed. His entire body glistened, wet from blood, sweat, and chemicals.

"Glad to know what you think of me, Karai."

Startled, Karai's gaze shot up to Leonardo's face, her eyebrows raised in surprise. How he was talking was a mystery. She'd seen how hard her father was squeezing. Forget that, the fact that he was still conscious was incredible. Suddenly turning her thoughts back to what he had said, she shook her head.

"I don't know what you mean." She replied dismissively.

A soft chuckle came from Leonardo, but it was swiftly replaced with racking coughs before he fell silent once again.

Karai moved to call a Foot ninja doctor in, but couldn't tear her gaze away from him. His arms were a mosaic of almost artistic cuts and burns that wove their way all the way from his shoulders to his hands, blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth, and purple bruising in the shape of her father's hand was already evident around his neck. Two slashes obviously from her father's blade cut diagonally across his chest and a pool of blood was forming at his feet, mainly from the numerous whip lashes across his legs and shell.

"Pretty picture, Karai?" Leonardo whispered head still hanging low and still.

Karai shook her head. Still through all this, not only had he not revealed Yoshi's location, but now he was joking? Odd, Leonardo had never struck her as the joking type before. Maybe the stress was changing his personality? Karai doubted that. Frankly, it was more likely that this was jut a side of him she hadn't seen before. A side with a dash of dark humor.

"Shut up." She growled and moved quickly toward the door before she could change her mind. Stepping through the door, she quickly beckoned to the set of foot ninja waiting patiently outside. Then just loud enough for Leonardo to hear she ordered, "Douse him in ice water and have someone take his vitals. Report back to Shredder." The Foot ninja nodded quickly in affirmation and Karai strode quickly away from the room taking special care not to look back at her father's prisoner.


	12. Chapter 12: A Plan

**I'm sorry it's such a short chapter for such a long time. I'm finally moved in and should be able to spend more time writing. A quick word to reviewers:**

**Sleeping Seeker: Thank you so much for the reviews! I really appreciate the feedback and to be honest you're what prompted me to get another chapter out. I have a lot more than this planned and I'll try to get it out to you as fast as I can. I also agree with your assessment of Leo and I'll try to incorporate something to help others understand that side of him.**

**Bubblyshell22: Thank you so much for your continued support and reviews! **

**Smile or else: Oh . . . you know me and cliffhangers. I can bet there'll be more. :)**

* * *

Leo couldn't help but tense as the team of foot ninja entered the room, but he clenched his teeth tight and refused to make any sound as they showered him in frigid water. His eyes involuntarily closed and his body jerked as the cold water first hit, but then he held himself as still as possible and hoped the cold water would numb his skin. It seemed the foot ninja took forever to wash the blood and grime off of him, but just as the burning cold was turning to numbness the water finally turned off. Two doctors in white lab coats moved forward and began taking his vitals. Leo didn't resist. Maybe he could sneak a glance at their notes and see how bad off he was.

Already the blood was beginning to drip from his wounds again, but he doubted the doctors would stitch him up. He had lost a lot of blood but, while it did make it harder to think, Leo knew it wasn't a fatal amount. None of the wounds carved and slashed up and down his body were deep enough to cause permanent damage and any paralyzing effects from the foot poison had worn off hours ago. He ached. He burned. But he wasn't beaten and he wasn't dead. He would recover.

The doctors began to move away and Leo realized there was no way he'd get to see the notes they'd taken. Fine. Donny'd be better at understanding them anyway. He'd just settle for his fighting instincts. Right now Leo knew that although his movements would be slightly sluggish and his thinking delayed, he could still fight. If he wanted to escape before his brothers - no, before Raph got himself caught in a rescue attempt, he needed to work on getting out of the cuffs holding his hands above his head.

Leo allowed himself to slump forward, allowing the chains to hold his entire weight, and hoped the foot ninja would think he passed out. With his eyes closed, Leo listened carefully and realized that all the foot ninja were leaving. Good. Good. Although he knew there had to be at least one security camera, having no foot ninja actually present in the room would buy him at least a few seconds to try to work out of his chains.

Several minutes later, Leo could practically hear Shredder laughing at him. They hadn't even bothered to send in ninja to stop him as he began to struggle from his chains. Apparently there was either no camera in the room (which Leo highly doubted) or Shredder knew the quality of his restraints. A fact Leo now knew as well.

Nothing had helped loosen or weaken the chains. Not even the slick blood dripping from his now injured wrists. Alright then. He needed a weapon. Something to help him pick the lock. Something sharp yet small enough to hide . . . somewhere. He'd find someplace to hide it later. Of course, assuming he could get the weapon in a first place.

He hung there for several more minuted trying to plan. He almost chuckled at that. _Plan_. In reality he felt like he was grasping as whips of smoke as his thoughts drifted by. He mind was steadily getting more and more confused and groggy. He vaguely wondered if the Shredder knew he was bleeding out. He wondered if Don and Mikey were ok. If Raph was still mad at him. He tried to push the picture of a worried and disappointed Splinter out of his mind. He wondered if anyone had told April.

Shaking his head, he tried to bring his thoughts back to planning. Maybe he could -

His thoughts were cut off as someone began to open his cell door. For a moment he panicked. Was the half hour already up? Was Shredder back? Stealing a weapon under Shredder's nose would probably be too hard. Could he make it another torture session and still be able enough to escape?

Then he realized that there were only foot ninja in the room. Not even Karai was there. He wasn't entirely sure what this meant, but as the foot ninja moved to unlock his restraints he smiled. Perhaps this was the moment he was waiting for.

* * *

Splinter stood from the floor where he had checked Michelangelo over one final time. He had allowed his sons to ponder their dark thoughts for several minutes. He had also allowed himself to fully relish his gratitude and marvel at Donatello's recovery. Now, it was time for planning. Although he knew Raphael and Donatello were trying to cope with the devastating effects of the evening, Splinter knew he could not allow his sons remain inactive any longer.

"Donatello." Splinter waited for his son's eyes to meet his own. "I realize you haven't tried this before, but I would like you to attempt to access the information the foot have."

Donatello was silent for a few seconds, then hesitatingly replied, "I suppose I could try to hack into their mainframe if that's what you're asking me to do. They've got to have some superb security measures, but I might be able to do it."

Splinter nodded and Donatello quickly moved toward his lab.

"Raphael. I need you to call April. Inform her of what has happened and ask her to come down to the lair. We will need her help in tending to Michelangelo - and Leonardo when he returns."

Splinter didn't miss the hope that filled Raphael's eyes as he quickly nodded and reached for his shell cell.

Then Splinter turned back toward his youngest son. He was beginning to worry about him. Although his legs were broken, he didn't seem to have any further injuries. What could possibly be keeping him unconscious this whole time?


	13. Chapter 13: Stay Conscious

**Again, I'm really sorry for the wait. I tried to get this done sooner, but it turns out I'm really bad at fight scenes. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up today, but right now I have to go help someone. In case I wasn't able to get back to the computer, I wanted to upload this for you. Reviews and criticism welcome.**

* * *

Leo forced himself to relax as the ninja rushed forward to unchain him. He thankfully noted that they didn't bother to drug him this time. Obviously he looked to injured to put up much of a fight. Let them believe that. He could use that.

The ninja roughly dragged him by his arms out the door and through the hallway. Leo struggled to stay completely limp as they jostled new injuries, but still didn't attempt to fight them. As they neared a new room, Leo hoped his wispy plan would hold up. The ninja filed into the room, the last three dragging Leo into the room and dropping him onto his knees. When he tried to look up, the ninja on his right backhanded him and pushed his head down again. There was silence for a few seconds, but when it broke the voice that filled the room also filled Leo with dread.

"Ah, Leonardo. You're looking a little more humble now." The Shredder's voice drawled filled with a sneer.

Yes, that would throw a kink in his plan. No. No, it wouldn't. It could still work. It could. He'd just have to be faster, more agile, more alert. He'd have to be on his top game.

As the ninja roughly tugged on his mask's tails forcing his head up to look at the Shredder, he was inconveniently reminded that neither his body nor mind were in top game shape. The movement flared pain down his shell as the welts left from the whip were jostled. He stared at the Shredder defiantly.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to be asking any questions for this round." Leo's defiant glare melted into confusion. "I just wanted to allow my soldiers some retribution. If you're still conscious when they're done, we'll start another round of questions with further incentive."

The ninja roughly jerked Leo to his feet then backed off quickly, almost totally unbalancing Leo. His body tilted backward slightly before Leo roughly jerked himself forward and righted himself again. He was shaking and struggled to stand upright, but quickly took a look around the room. It almost looked like a small practice room. The Shredder had retreated to a second story row of seats and Leo was surrounded by a good fifty ninja.

No escaping. Alright a slight modification.

One of the ninja surged forward and Leo jerked his attention back to the problem at hand. _He's going for a lethal strike to my neck._ Leo waited till the ninja was just upon him then jerked his body to the side, out of the path of the ninja's sword, and thrust his right leg out tripping the ninja. _A sorry excuse for ninja. _Emboldened by the first ninja, three more rushed forward. _A slash to the right arm, club to the left shoulder, and a strike to my right knee. _Leo leaned quickly to the left and took the club full on, avoiding a deeper slash and the strike to his knee. Leo pulled the ninja with a club in close and threw him to the ground.

Suddenly Leo allowed his sixth sense to take over and he dropped to the right, his left forearm taking all his weight, and rolled to his stomach quickly. Above him a ninja slashed where his head would have been. His arms burned in protest as Leo swung himself up into a handstand and locked his legs around the ninja's neck and swung the ninja up and behind him. _These guys aren't taking it easy! _When Leo landed his backflip, his right knee buckled and he fell to one knee. Taking advantage of his drop, Leo swung his left leg out in a sweeping arc and knocked three more ninja unto the ground. Pushing up with his hands, Leo stood up and backpedaled simultaneously, effectively escaping two more fatal hits. His entire body burned now and his arms were beginning to feel like lead. A ninja rushed forward turning a bo staff into a batting position. With a quick look backward, Leo determined that the ninja behind him weren't holding anything sharp in his direction and turned forward again just in time to take the powerful blow to his chest.

Leo pushed off with his toes to lessen the blow and slammed into the two ninja behind him. Immediately Leo hooked his left arm over the ninja's shoulder and his left leg behind the ninja's knee and threw his weight to the left, toppling them both to the ground. The ninja tried to roll on top of Leo, and Leo let him. Then continued to throw his weight and rolled with the ninja. The two began to tussle on the floor then suddenly Leo punched the ninja in the face and stood up victor. Shaking blood from his fist, Leo turned to face the rest of the ninja.

Several of the ninja were back up. Which was fine. He wasn't trying to escape anyway. As long as these guys weren't trying to kill him . . . like they seemed to want. Leo felt wet. Completely wet. Reaching a hand around to touch his shell, Leo let his hand touch the sticky wetness. Blood or sweat? Bringing it back around, Leo sighed. Blood. Everything felt raw and open. His lungs burned for air and his throat felt like it was on fire. _Just a little longer, body. Just hold on a little longer._

The standstill ended and four ninja moved towards him, more cautious this time. _All three with katana. _Leo pulled his feet into a more stable defensive stance. The four began to form a half circle around him. One slashed. Leo ducked to the right. Another cut upward and to the right. Leo slid backward and out of the way. The middle one moved to stab him in the shoulder as his partner on the right simultaneously cut toward Leo's feet. Leo jumped and spun. _Not quick enough._ The katana slashed at Leo's chest leaving a deep but non-fatal cut. Leo swiftly slipped behind the ninja on the end, grabbing the ninja's sword hand as he went. Twisting the ninja's wrist, he swiftly disarmed him and took possession of the katana. With a quick jerk to the shocked ninja and a swift swipe up, Leo held the katana to the ninja's neck.

He moved to drag the ninja toward the door as a hostage, but the other three didn't halt. The ninja behind him didn't halt. All the ninja rushed him, and Leo realized in horror that they were going to kill his hostage to get to him. Quickly Leo threw the ninja to the side and tried to block the onslaught of ninja. Slash. Swipe. Dodge. Slash and duck. Clang . . . then he toppled to the ground tackled around the chest by two ninja. He tried to fight them off. Squirmed and punched with his free hand. He tried to hold onto the katana, but it was no use. Someone started stomping his hand repeatedly. Something broke and the katana skittered away. He wasn't in control any more. Someone punched his face over and over. He tried to curl in on himself to make a smaller target, but they were holding his wrists and ankles. He bucked but someone slammed the end of a bo staff into his mid-section. Breath knocked out of him, Leo surrendered to the beating keeping his fists clenched tight.

He lost track of time. He wanted to pass out, but he couldn't. He had to . . . had to stay conscious. Had to keep his fist clenched. He forgot why. He couldn't gather any other thoughts. Just keep the fists clenched, Leo. A blinding white pain flashed across his eyes as his head hit the cement hard. He felt himself fading and dragged himself back to consciousness. Stay awake, Leo. Then it stopped.

The pressure on his chest lessened and someone dragged him upright. A deep chuckled pierced the ringing in his ears, and Leo opened his eyes.

"Looks like this round's over now, doesn't it. To reward your consciousness, we'll resume our little chat in five minutes. See you soon, Leonardo. And hopefully this time you'll be more cooperative."


	14. Chapter 14: Brothers' View

**Here's the next section. I wanted it to go with the chapter before, but like I explained I had to take a break from the computer.**

* * *

Mikey slowly became aware of garbled sounds. He allowed himself to bask in the confusion and pretended it was music. Then he slowly became aware of a deep throbbing in his legs. This introduction of pain also caused the sounds to clear. He mentally groaned when the sounds separated dragging him back to reality.

"So then we make a full force attack from the bottom and fight our way up."

Mikey snickered to himself. Not Raph's ugly voice again. If Raph's voice was going to be the first thing he heard when he woke up, he'd have to make an insult to Raph be the first thing he said. His sensei's voice cut through his devious planning.

"I'm glad to hear your plan, my son, but I think a more subtle two pronged attack would be better."

Attack? Mikey's head briefly filled with his favorite attack combos from Assassin Creed. Then a thought raced through his brain. _Donny!_ Wait where was Don's voice. Where was Don? Was Don ok? Mikey vaguely remembered trying to get Don to respond to him while he lay collapsed over Mikey's broken legs. Mikey started to voice his question to the detached voices of his brother and sensei when he opted for the more dramatic rout.

"UUUUUUUUuuugah" Mikey let out a long drawn out dramatic groan. That should get their attention.

"Mikey!" Raph's gruff voice shouted. _Ouch. Raphy. Quiet down won't you! _Mikey felt Raph's calloused hand grab his and another hand slid beneath his head.

"My son, are you alright?"

Mikey cracked his eye slightly and twisted his face into a grimace. Then he slowly reached his hand upward toward Raph's face. "The light . . ." he wheezed "it's calling me." He hand reached Raph's face and he threw his eyes open. "AAAAAAH!" He shouted. "A monster! Save me!"

Raph's startled face quickly morphed into anger and he threw Mikey's hand back down onto his chest.

"YOU! YOU ARE SOO-" Raph cut off his own sentence with an exasperated growl and stopped away from the couch, much to Mikey's enjoyment. His laughter filled the room.

"You're . . . ahahah . . oh, man. your face! hahahah! So worth it!" Turning his tear filled eyes toward Splinter, Mikey was pleased to see a slightly amused smile grace his father's face.

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Michelangelo."

Mikey slowly finished his laugh. Then turned to urgently back to his father. "Is Don ok? He wasn't responding! It was like he was paralyzed earlier."

"Shhh." His father cut him off. "Donatello is alright. He was indeed paralyzed earlier, but he is now up and being very helpful."

Just then the door to Don's lab slammed open and into the wall.

"Guys! I did it! I'm in!" Don rushed through the living room and into the kitchen and rushed back out, this time with both hands filled with coffee mugs. "You know, for a large evil organization, they're not protecting their online information and security very well." Don disappeared back into his lab and Mikey could hear Don sit back down into his chair heavily.

Splinter and Raph moved to join Don in the lab and Mikey panicked. "Wait! Raph! Don't leave me here! I want to join!" Raph looked back over his shoulder and snickered. "Should have thought of that earlier, chucklehead. This 'monster' ain't savin' no one."

Mikey turned his puppy eyes to Master Splinter, but was met with calm reproval. "Rest my son. We will bring the meeting back out to you in a minute." Then both continued their journey to the lab.

Annoyed Mikey slunk deep into the couch. Well, if he couldn't go with he could at least eavesdrop. Closing his eyes, Mikey tuned out his other senses and focused on what he could hear. The lab wasn't too far away so Mikey was able to catch most of the conversation.

"….flipping through their security feeds. I'm not altering what they see at all so I should go undetected for a while. I figured it would be a good idea to get a view of Leo and see what kind of shape he's in. It might affect our plans."

"Good thinking, my son."

There was a pause in the conversation then Raph's voice filtered through. "Geez. They've got way more ninja than I thought."

"Actually, Raph. You might be seeing some of the same ninja twice since . . ." Another pause. "Wait, what are they doing? That's a lot of ninja to be in one place."

A deep growl from Raph then, "There's Shredder."

A gasp then a low, "Shell."

"My son!" Then a crash as something hit the floor.

Alright. That's enough. Mikey was going to find a way in there. Slowly, Mikey slid his hands the floor, purposefully ignoring the pain in his legs. Carefully he rotated his center of balance and moved his broken legs above his head, allowing them to hang in the most comfortable position and changing his center of balance to compensate. Mikey allowed himself a congratulatory chuckle. _Can't keep this ninja down! _Then he walked himself over to the lab slowly and carefully. Luckily the door to the lab was still open.

Mikey noticed the test tube on the floor first. _So that must have been what fell._ Then he caught a glimpse of what everyone was staring at.

Leo.

Battered and bloody Leo. So they didn't save him after all. Mikey lost his balance then. As he was falling, he tried to rotate to save his legs the fall but it didn't seem to work. Mikey braced himself for the impact, but a furry hand caught him. Mikey gave a sheepish smile up to his father.

"Didn't want to stay?" He offered as an explanation. Splinter simply gave him a reproving look and turned toward Raph.

"Raphael." His brother didn't turn right away. Mikey realized Raph was shaking and his fists were turning white. Splinter called him again, "Raphael!" With a quick jerky movement, Raph turned his head and immediately moved toward Mikey. Gently but quickly, he lifted Mike off the floor and onto the lab cot. Then he swiftly turned back to face Don's monitor.

Now off the ground, Mikey got a better view of what was going on. Several ninja were holding Leo on his knees and Shredder was saying something. Apparently Don wasn't getting any sound from the foot 'cause the feed was silent, but Mike realized that Leo looked dazed. He wasn't reacting to whatever Shredder was saying. Suddenly one of the ninja yanked on Leo's mask and force his head up. Don gasped and Mikey realized Don was scribbling insanely fast on a notepad. Mikey looked back at Leo and winced. Something had choked his brother. Everything was purple, swollen and bruised. And Mikey knew he didn't have anywhere near the medical know-how that Don did, but those two gashes across Leo's plastron couldn't be good.

Shredder had stopped talking and the ninja yanked Leo to his feet. Raph growled and started to say something but Don cut him off. "I think . . . I think they're going to force him to fight!" Don's voice was filled with horror and Mikey was caught off guard for a minute. I mean, sure Leo didn't look like he was in top shape but what was so horrifying about a fight. Mikey figured Don must know something he didn't and continued watching.

One of the ninja surged forward and Mikey saw Leo jerked toward the offender. He felt his heart jump into his throat when Leo didn't move, but sighed in relief when Leo jerked out of the way last minute. Three more rushed toward his brother and Mikey winced when a mean looking club struck Leo's left shoulder and the katana grazed his right arm. He had to admit he was startled when Leo threw the club wielder to the ground and then dropped to the floor himself. It became very apparent why though as a sword swung right above his brother. Mikey heard Don hiss in displeasure as Leo brought himself into a handstand and threw the ninja behind him. Mikey spared a glance toward Don and realized Don was still scribbling on that paper.

Raph chuckled and Mikey's eyes darted from Raph back to the screen. He smiled. Leo had swept several more ninja to the ground. Then Mikey tensed. Leo wasn't moving! That guy was going to . . . "Why are you looking behind you!" Mikey shouted. Then the club struck Leo and Don shook his head. Leo flew back into a couple of ninja and then suddenly he was on the ground. Confused, Mike processed that his brother was indeed tussling with just one ninja.

"End it Leo!" Raph was clearly getting into this as much as Mikey was. Leo was still rolling! Then a good hit to the face, and Leo was back up.

"Wait!" Don interjected. "Where did that blood come from?" Mikey was about to give a snarky response when he caught a glimpse of Leo's shell. His breath caught in his throat. _Oh, shell._ They'd whipped him. . . those . . . they'd whipped him. They'd whipped his brother. Leo's back was all blood but the darker rivulets made it very clear that the blood was coming from the wounds that tore his brother's shell and legs apart. Mikey turned away. He couldn't breath and look at Leo at the same time.

He looked back up when he heard Raph's growled, "YES!" Leo was holding a katana to one of the ninja's neck and was inching toward the door. Don wasn't as pleased. He quickly stood up shouting at the screen. "NO! LEO! They don't care!" Obviously Leo had realized this too as he thrust the ninja to the side and moved to block. Mikey couldn't help smiling. Even as injured as he was, his brother was the perfect model of swordsmanship. He practically danced taking on all the ninja at once. Then it was over. Someone threw themselves at Leo's chest and threw him to the ground. There was practically a dog pile on his brother and bile rose in Mikey's throat. They were going to kill him! Over and over they struck Leo and Mikey felt a rage boil up from his chest.

Mikey suddenly realized that Raph was growling and moving toward the door. That's right. Enough was enough. They were going to get Leo NOW. Mikey tried to join Raph, but his legs reminded him of his handicap. Don was still scribbling. Mikey made a noise and Splinter turned toward Raph. His cane flung out and he stopped Raph from moving any further. Grabbing his arm, Splinter led Raph out of the room.

Mikey turned back toward the screen. They were still beating Leo, but Shredder was now on the floor. Suddenly Shredder waved his hand and said something and the ninja piled off Leo. Mikey could hold back a gasp. Leo was pulp. His face was all bloody and his plastron was cracked. One of his hands was definitely broken and the wounds on his plastron were bleeding heavily. Several of the ninja pulled Leo up by his arms and mask and Don groaned. "Don't do that!" He whispered angrily. Mikey watched as the pulled his brother from the room and as Don frantically began switching camera views to try and find them again. He watched as Don followed them through the hall and as they pulled his brother into a room. He watched them chain Leo back up and then he turned away from the last time. Forget his broken legs. They were rescuing Leo TONIGHT.


	15. Chapter 15: Professional Opinion

Don sighed and slumped back into his chair. There had been a lull in the foot video feed. Leo was just hanging there seemingly unconscious and oblivious to the world. Don looked down at his notes and he felt his chest clench up. He felt anger wash over him again. Did the foot not have _any _doctors in their stronghold? He knew that was wrong but it made him feel better to think that there just wasn't anyone there that _could _help Leo rather than a bunch of medically trained professionals just standing by as his brother bled out. That thought caused a wave of despair to wash over him.

That was Don's biggest worry right now. While Leo had sustained an incredible amount of injuries, so far none of them seemed life threatening on their own. But the blood. All the blood. And that couldn't have been all of the blood Leo had lost since they lost him. Raph had said Leo had been poisoned by a dagger. That's another wound or two. And when they . . . Don paused, the anger rising up again. When they had whipped him . . . that's more blood. And Don hadn't missed the knife wounds carved into Leo's arms. Don let his head fall into his hands. If he could get his brother before the night was up, he might be able to save him. He had some blood stored by and combining that with some transfusions from Raph and Mikey, but even that held risks. He needed to run a test and see if their blood was compatible. They'd never needed this much replacement blood before. Don knew he'd need to do those tests eventually, but he didn't think he'd need this much blood so soon.

Unexplainably Don felt a wave of anger wash over him again and his fists clenched. If only Leo hadn't gone topside alone. And what had Leo done to bring all the foot and kraang down on him? That idiot! Don understood Raph and Leo fighting. Shell, it happened all the time. But going topside? Leo knew the danger. Leo, himself, had lectured them on going topside more times than Don could count.

Don leaned his back against his chair and took several calming breaths. The last thing he needed right now was anger directed toward his patient. Well, his future patient. If anyone deserved anger, it was the foot and Karai and Shredder. When Don got his hand into the fighting, he was going to thrash everyone he could get his hands on. Don chuckled to himself. Where had all his thoughts of peacefully sneaking Leo out? Now, he legitimately wanted a bloodbath. So this must be how Raph feels all the time.

Don grabbed his notepad again and began scanning over Leo's injuries. He'd need a needle and thread, blood - lots of it, a splint for Leo's hand, some cold compresses for the bruises, lots of sterile rags, sterile water, some glue for Leo's plastron . . . his thoughts trailed off and he started gathering materials. No matter what the plan was, Don was going to need this stuff. He could join Raph and Splinter for planning in a few minutes.

"Hey, um. Don?" Don jerked his head up startled. Oh. Mikey. Raph and Splinter must have left him in here.

"Yeah, Mike?" Don moved toward the cot. Maybe Mike's legs were hurting.

"Two questions. First, is Leo going to make it?" Don looked up at Mikey's face. So Mikey had seen all of that. Don cursed himself and wished he'd noticed Mike had come in. For some reason, it just felt like Mikey should have been spared that scene.

"You know he will, Mikey."

Don was startled as anger flashed across Mikey's face. "No, Don. I don't know that. I want to know your professional medical opinion."

"Mike, I'm not a prof-"

"Well, you're gonna be the one fixing him up aren't you?!" Mike was practically shouting now. Don paused. Mike was really shook up to be acting this way. This was so out of his normal character . . .

"Ok, Mike. Here's my 'professional' medical opinion." Don paused and looked right into Mikey's eyes. "Leo is going to be fine." Mikey opened his mouth and Don cut him off. "Leo's tough and none of those injuries are life threatening. Painful and bloody, yes. But not life threatening. He's lost a lot of blood, though so I'm going to need to get some blood in him as soon as I can. But my 'professional' opinion is that Leo is going to be fine."

Don was happy to see Mikey's anxious face soften at Don's confident words. Don even felt himself gain a little confidence at his words. That's right. Leo was tough. Leo wouldn't just give up. Leo was going to be fine. Abruptly Don closed the small distance between him and Mikey and pulled Mike's head onto his shoulder. It was an awkward hug-what with Mikey still sitting lower than Don on the cot, but it just needed to be done. Done felt Mikey give a big sigh and relished in the comfort he felt just from having at least one brother this close. After what felt like a minute, Mikey pulled away from Don's hug.

Don raised an eyebrow at Mikey's sheepish facial expression. "Um, so my second question . . . do you think you could carry me to the kitchen? I'm starving!"

* * *

Leo knew it had been five minutes, but the Shredder still hadn't returned to his cell. He hoped it was because Shredder realized Leo was drifting on the edge of unconsciousness and not because Shredder had found a different source of information.

As Leo's thoughts drifted slowly back within his reach, he suddenly became aware of blood dripping from his fist. Why was that important? Leo started to shake his head to clear his thoughts, but thought better of it as a wave of nausea overpowered him. He must have hit his head pretty hard. What was he just thinking about?

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Oh yeah, the blood dripping from his fist. Why was that important? Suddenly Leo remembered. He'd done it! He'd done it! Leo glanced up at his fist and almost opened it to take a look. Just to reassure himself that it was still there. Then he remembered the security cameras and looked back down to the floor. No point in giving up the advantage he fought so hard for.

Suddenly the door to his cell opened and Karai walked in. He glanced at her from under half-lidded eyes. She was looking him over. Now she was circling him. She placed a hand on his back and lightening shot through Leo. She was touching his wounds! His back arched involuntarily trying to get away from the pain. He clenched his fist tighter.

When Leo reopened his eyes, he realized he was panting and Karai was in front of him. She was staring pensively at her blood covered palm. Without looking at him she began to speak. "You're going to die before you tell us anything aren't you?" Leo's gaze hardened and he tried to answer her.

Tried because when he opened his mouth, all that came out was a cough. The cough racked his chest and made his head hurt even more. It was like his body was trying to satisfy an itch in his throat. When was the last time he'd had any water?

When the cough subsided, Leo grimaced and tried to answer Karai again. She was looking at him now with her head slightly cocked to one side. His voice came out deep and gravely, but he did get the words out. "What did you think, Karai? Of course, I'll die first." Karai's expression didn't change. She continued to stare at him blankly. Her eyes began to rove his body and Leo felt an overpowering feeling of helplessness settle on him.

Then she turned swiftly and made for the door. As she stalked out she delivered her order to the ninja waiting outside.

"Shower him again and check his vitals. Shredder will be here in fifteen minutes, so make it snappy."


	16. Chapter 16: Detonate

**Right. No excuses. I don't have any. But for those who have been waiting a long time for an update, you should be glad to know that I'm committed to finishing this one pronto. Because I have another plot bunny that's bugging me and I really didn't want to abandon this one. **

**P.S. Thank you soo much to everyone that's stuck through the wait. It should be getting good.**

* * *

Mikey groaned silently as his boredom made itself manifest once again. Not being able to walk, run, leap, aka "be a ninja" SUCKED. At least he wasn't relegated to home. Even though he could desperately do with a comfy session with the couch and some video games, the image of Leo hanging in chains was burned in his brain and he couldn't help but feel like he NEEDED to be _here_.

For what had felt like _hours_, Mikey had helped Don put together some heavy duty explosives while Raph circled key areas of the city on a map.

Mikey couldn't help smiling as he thought of Raph and the map. New York City should be renamed Raph's City. Raph knew every inch of that city, rooftops AND streets, and he also knew where all the best fights could be found. Master Splinter had asked Raph to identify the best places in the city to draw the Foot attention and to divert it into multiple directions. They needed areas that were strictly Foot territory. Places they could blow up and not injure innocents. Raph had smiled grimly and begun circling places on his map.

Mikey had tried his best to listen to Don's highly technical explanation for assembling the explosives, but in the end had just decided to watch Don's hands. It had gone well overall; Mikey had assembled several "bombs" before they had their first and only scare. (When Mikey accidentally connected the wrong wires and Don had had to diffuse a small bomb quickly.) Hey, how was he 'sposed to know. The wires had been the same color.

After that Mikey had been relegated to packing the explosives into the boxes.

Now, Mikey was watching from the Shellraiser as Master Splinter place the last explosive set. Mikey was itching for some action. He should be infiltrating with Don and Raph! They needed his _awesome_ ninja skills! Instead, he was stuck here watching Master Splinter do all the fun work.

When Master Splinter finally climbed into the driving seat, Mikey couldn't help but tense. Their drive to this spot hadn't been uneventful and Master Splinter had hit several trashcans and nearly missed a light pole. They were supposed to be moving to a safe detonation spot, but their chosen location wouldn't do them any good if they never made it there!

Mikey needn't have worried. They made it fine, and in no time Master Splinter was handing him a device with several very tempting red buttons. VERY tempting . . . VERY VERY tempting. Mikey looked up at Master Splinter ready to beg for permission to push just _one_ button, and instead was met with Master Splinter's "don't mess with me" eyes. Mikey turned his puppy dog eyes back down to the device and started deciding which button to press first.

Master Splinter was talking to Raph through Don's cool new ear pieces. Mikey hadn't gotten one since technically the two Raph and Master Splinter were wearing were . . . what was the word Don kept using .. . proto . . . proto . . whatever. Don didn't have enough. What a bummer. When this was all over, Don was going to have to make one for everyone. And THEN they could play spies in the tunnels and they'd have some secret mission to accomplish. And he could pair up with Don, and Raph could pair up with Leo . . . Leo . . . . yeah. It might be a while before they could play spies together . . . Oh well. That'd give Don time to make more gadgets for them!

* * *

An old streetlamp shed little light on the alleyway, leaving most of the area around the skyscraper in complete darkness. Don was sure this was by Shredder's design since Foot ninja had to exit the building several times a night. As he crept around the skyscraper, following his brother, he tried to shove the pit in his stomach deeper down. Their plan was risky, but really did they have any choice? Don tried to reason that the plan had truly been designed by Splinter and that had to make it foolhardy . . . right?

No matter how many times he repeated to himself, "This will work . . . this _will_ work! This will work!" He couldn't help remembering something Leo had taken to quoting, "No plan survives contact with the enemy." Don was 99.9% positive that had either come from Space Heroes or Master Splinter. Either way, it had held true for all of Leo's plans and Don had no doubts that _something _would go wrong with Master Splinter's.

Don stopped silently as Raph threw out a commanding hand behind him. They were silent for a few seconds as Raph ascertained that they were truly alone, then Don heard Raph whisper, "Master Splinter? Are you and Mikey in place? Don and I are ready to infiltrate."

Don scooted closer, partly as an effort to hear what Master Splinter said, but really because he was itching to get Leo. Out of the whole family, Don knew the best what Leo was going through right now. He'd checked the Foot footage right before they left and had found Leo being woken up by the Shredder's claws. He'd been torn between his desires as a medic and his desires as a ninja brother. On one hand he felt compelled to stay and watch so he'd know the extent of any new damage. On the other hand, he wanted to rush out of the Lair right then and deliver justice to the whole ninja clan. In the end, Don's new "mini-Raph" personality had won out.

Don inched closer again and was stopped as Raph threw out a cautionary hand again. Don huffed in response and meant to whisper an urge to hurry, but Raph turned to look at him grinning. At any other time, Don would have been concerned about the blood thirsty, slightly maniacal grin on Raph's face, but tonight he had a sneaking suspicion that his face suddenly looked very similar.

"Let's go."

* * *

Back in the Shellraiser, Master Splinter barked out his first command. "Michaelangelo! Now!" Mikey looked up for a split second and saw Master Splinter looking at him . . . YES! RED BUTTON RED BUTTON RED BUTTON!

BOOOOOOOMMM! Kapow! That's right! Mikinator hit the _detonator_! Let the fun begin!

And with that command from Raph and the explosion from Mikey, two ninja melted into the shadows, climbing the Foot headquarter's walls.


	17. Chapter 17: Jinx

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Shredder was not at all pleased. He'd been interrupted from a very therapeutic torture session with that _infernal_ turtle to be informed that several of their warehouses had been blown up. BLOWN UP! The waste of resources and time were enormous. How could he not find ONE competent ninja to lead and protect his warehouses. He had hundreds of ninja. Hundreds! And somehow these sabotages had not been spotted even though they had crossed his territory three times.

Shredder stalked out of the foul smelling room wiping blood and sweat off his hands with a towel handed to him by a silent and low-bowing ninja. Halfway to his room he was stopped by a groveling ninja. So help him, if this one brought more bad news. . . . Let him grovel. All his ninja should fear. After all he'd killed servants for less than being a messenger of bad news.

"What is it! Spit it out!"

The ninja shook beneath his gaze and Shredder took another step towards him. "S-s-sorry, Mas-s-ster Shred-d-der, but another . . . exp-p-plosion has oc-c-cured at the . . . the warehouse on n-n-ninth." Shredder raised his hand as if the strike the ninja, and the ninja cowered even lower. With a sudden rage, Shredder turned from the ninja roaring, "KARAI!"

His daughter appeared obediently and silently to his right. He duly noticed that she was just out of range of his claws. "Yes, Father."

"I am leaving. No doubt those infernal turtles are being led by their pathetic Splinter in _Leonardo's _absence." Karai winced at the way her father drawled Leo's name cruelly as if he were a pet animal, but nodded swiftly. "You are in charge of protecting the fortress and keeping our guest in his room." Shredder turned to enter his room and fully armor himself. As an afterthought he turned to his daughter, "I needed remind you of what should happen should you fail?"

Karai swallowed her fear, knowing her father would sense it. "Of course not, _Father._" She bowed humbly hoping he wouldn't take her emphasis of their relationship as a jibe and listened as he chuckled darkly, entered his room, and slammed his door.

With a new determination, Karai strode back toward Leo's cell. She had no time for guilt now. Better Leonardo suffer than her.

* * *

Don and Raph scaled the wall of the Foot Headquarters mentally counting till they reached the twenty-first floor, the room the footage showed Leo on. It wasn't easy. Besides the height, it felt like the Foot Headquarters was made entirely of tinted windows. Twice they had to put on a super burst of speed to avoid being seen, and just two floors ago, Don had slid quickly to the left to avoid being seen, only to drop a floor lower when he realized that someone was turning to look out the window he had hidden by. When they finally reached the twenty-first floor, Don had quickly painted a large circle on to the window with his very own acid. When the glass looked ready to fall inward, Don had performed a tricky move catching it with one hand while he swung himself inward. Raph had followed immediately, and Don had secured the glass circle to the window with five small spots of super glue. He didn't want it too secure. It might prove a helpful back up escape route.

Now, Don could barely hold a snigger in as he watched the frantic movements of the black-clad ninja below them. They crawled silently along the ceiling, careful to stay still whenever someone passed below them. So far, three groups of fully outfitted ninja had rushed down the hall. (Toward the stairs, if Don was remembering the blueprints correctly.) Once, a random ninja had rushed down the hall while struggling into his ninja uniform. Obviously someone had been caught off guard. Apparently their diversion tactic was working.

However, as they neared the spot where Leo's cell should be, Don's stomach sank. Standing directly in front of the door was Karai. They hung upside down for what Don approximated to be three minutes _waiting_ for her to go away. No matter how hard Don tried, his arms were starting to shake. There's only so much a turtle can take! He'd already climbed straight up a building for peat's sake! He turned to look at Raph and gave him a strained look. They needed to do something besides wait, because his arms aren't going to last much longer.

Raph looked angry and frustrated. Don mentally moaned as he waited for Raph to make a decision. Should they confront her or split up and lead her away? Raph slowly drew his sai and began pointing it toward Karai. Don adjusted his grip and quickly grabbed Raph's arm shaking his head. If Raph killed Karai now, they'd surely raise the alarm. That'd only make it more difficult to get a surely unconscious Leo out of the building. Raph tried to quietly jerk his arm out of Don's grasp, murder in his eyes (something Don understood), but his sai clanged on the pipe Raph was hanging from. Both of their eyes widened. It was such a small sound, but surely Karai, a trained ninja . . . yup. She noticed it.

Karai was looking with narrowed eyes at the spot Raph and Don were hiding. Karai started reaching for the intercom on the wall and Don realizied the opportunity to lead her away was gone. Simultaneously Don and Raph struck.

Karai abandoned the reach for the intercom in favor of drawing her swords. As Raph's sai locked on her sword, Don swept his bo for her feet feeling his anxiety solidify. Wrong, wrong, ALL _wrong! _Now they somehow had to take Karai out without alerting the guards before trying to cart an unconscious Leo through a loaded building! In desperation, Don pushed Karai away from the intercom on the wall and down the hall to the right, away from the stairs.

Karai was fast and striking for the kill, but Raph was overcome with bloodlust and Don was driven by desperation. They were succeeding in driving her down the hall. They neared a corner and as Raph twisted her sword out of her hand, Don kicked her around the corner . . . . where she crashed into a waiting ninja platoon. Don couldn't help it. He face palmed. Forget the plan, now it was just survival.

* * *

Leo slowly drifted back into consciousness. The first thing he felt was his back, then his arms, then his head. Then everything hit him full force. The pain was nauseating. He retched for a few seconds before he let his head fall backward. Numbly he gazed at his right hand. The blood wasn't dripping anymore. It was surprising nobody had pried his hand open yet. Obviously they were overlooking ALL of his wounds. Well, if he stayed here any longer that was sure to become a problem. Time to make a break for it.

Leo steeled himself then opened his hand. Embedded in his palm lay a ninja star. It took him less time than he thought it would to pick the lock. A good thing since he was convinced there WAS a camera in this room. When he got home . . . wow that hit him with nostalgia . . . home. It felt like forever since he was there. He really didn't want to dwell on how the normal happy memories associated with that word didn't appear.

Leo heard feet rushing down the hall and for a terrifying moment Leo thought they were coming to restrain him again. But the feet passed his door and he continued to unlock the cuffs holding his ankles. Moving quickly toward the door, Leo listened to the other side. Heart sinking, Leo tried to steel himself for a fight. But suddenly there was the person shifted . . . and then steel clashed! Leo had no idea what was going on, but undue attention by his door was the last thing he needed right now.

Leo leaned on the door listening to the fight. There was something vaguely familiar about the sounds, but his mounting panic wiped out that train of thought. The longer he stayed unchained in this room the greater the chance the Shredder would be informed of his escape. His whole body involuntarily tensed and shivers ran down his spine at the thought of the Shredder finding him in the middle of an escape attempt.

Suddenly the sounds starting fading as the fight apparently moved down the hall. Leo felt hope fill his chest. NOW! As the sounds reached an all time low, Leo burst from the room. Not seeing anyone, Leo quickly swung the door shut and jumped, pushing off the wall, and grabbed the pipes along the ceiling. Swiftly, before his abused arms collapsed, Leo began crawling down to the left, away from the sounds of the fight. Soon he'd be home! Safe. _Safe_ that was the first time Leo had entertained that word in all of his mental ramblings. He quickly banished it, hoping desperately he hadn't just jinxed himself.


End file.
